Take me there
by Juud
Summary: As Byakuya recovers from his confrontation with Ichigo and Aizen, he thinks over his confession to Rukia. Had it been the right decision not to tell her the complete last moment he and Hisana had spent together? It was. Because it had been their moment.


**A/N**: I'm on holiday in Canada! I'm from Holland myself, so it has been quite a trip. Did you know that it was my first flight, and I found it nothing but boring? Eight hours on a plane, ghah! But anyway, I've been here a week now (as written. When posted, I'm here for almost two weeks and we're just back from a trip to New York.) and there is no way that I can continue on any of my other stories. So you'll have to deal with one-shots I will be posting!

I was wondering... Why would Byakuya share one of the most special and private memories of his life with anyone? Anyone at all? Had he just given Rukia the essentials of his last night with Hisana?

So I tried to write about a would-be last night. I'm sure you'll notice where I've put the 'essentials'. I hope you like it!

Oh, and I was thinking about the song "Take Me There" of Rascal Flatts. I absolutely love it, and in some sort of way it fits for both Byakuya and Hisana. Figure out for yourself what is it!

**Disclaimer:** Neither Bleach nor its characters are mine.

* * *

"The sun is shining so brightly today."

Hisana had her eyes on the beautiful sight of spring out of the window. Byakuya watched her in silence as she did so. She was resting her fragile and pale body on a bed in a room with a complete view on the garden. She lay there so gentle and calm; only her hoarse voice and weak movements could show that her moment had come.

Byakuya stood up from his place near the windows and slowly walked over to his wife. He didn't want to go. He would rather run away from this moment and to take her with him. Run from the illness that had caused Hisana to suffer from pain and which had brought her to this moment; the moment of her resting on her deathbed. He was scared. When he'd witness her dying, it would really happen. She would really pass.

"It's like he knows."

Hisana's amused voice pulled Byakuya from his thoughts. The look in her eyes made him curious to what exactly she was seeing. He sat down beside her and watched for himself.

"Look," he noticed. "An early blossom would like to bloom."

"They're my favorite," Hisana smiled. She reached out for his hand and traced his fingers with her own.

Byakuya raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Since when?"

"Always have," Hisana said, beaming up at him. "Especially since our wedding day. Do you remember our first moment alone as husband and wife?"

Byakuya did. He squeezed her hand gently and started to tell how he remembered it. "Right after the ceremony. We walked hand in hand over the grassland behind the resident. All of the surrounding sakura trees were in full bloom."

Hisana closed her eyes as she thought about that evening, too. "I really treasure that moment."

"You never told me you liked them that much," Byakuya said, stroking a strand of hair out of her face.

Hisana opened her eyes again and gazed into his. "If I had ever told you, you would have wanted to use them for the wedding or any anniversary. You let me pick out so many things already, so in some sort of way, we both choose the bellflowers."

Byakuya smiled softly. "You are amazing."

Hisana started to laugh. "You think I'm weird, too. I can see it written all over your face!"

An unwelcome smirk grew on Byakuya's face. "Fine. You are a bit weird, too."

Hisana smiled, satisfied with his reaction, and snuggled closer into her pillow. After she pulled her blanket further over her body, she let her hand pat the spot next to her, asking, "Join me?"

Byakuya did what she asked. He laid his body next to hers and he felt her rest her head on his chest. He absentmindedly stroke his fingers over her arm. Hisana tried to suppress a yawn, but failed terribly. "I'm so tired…"

Byakuya didn't reply. He just sighed, which Hisana found troublesome.

"Waiting for me to die wasn't exactly what you had planned for today, was it?" she asked softly.

"I had always hoped that I would never had to witness it at all," Byakuya replied in a voice just as soft as hers. "I was convinced that I would die first."

"I'm glad you didn't," Hisana said as she lifted her head, trying to see his face. "I couldn't have made it any longer than I have now without you."

She rested her head back on his chest and it slowly raised as Byakuya took a deep breath. Then he said something in such a low voice that Hisana doubted whether it was for her to hear or not. But whatever it was, she had heard it loud and clear.

"How could I?"

Hisana shifted her body and now she lay on her side next to him. She put her hand on his chest, pushing herself up a bit. Now she could see his face properly.

"Find new love."

"Never."

Byakuya had spoken before Hisana had even started on her last word.

"You're so stubborn!" Hisana said louder than she had intended, causing her to cough badly. Her voice was even more hoarse when she continued. "Do you think I can die as a happy person while I'm fully aware that I'll be leaving a depressed and probably suicidal husband behind?"

After seconds of silence, Byakuya placed his arms next to his torso to push himself up. Hisana had to struggle to keep body contact. When she managed, she shrieked surprised upon feeling Byakuya pulling her up by her sides, on to his lap.

"I won't let you go without a promise that will make you happy, Hisana," he said as she rested her head on his shoulder. Hisana gave him a questioning glance. "What promise?"

Her husband turned his head and focused on the garden again. He stayed quiet for a couple of seconds. "You know what promise. Ask me."

Hisana knew what he was asking. She averted her gaze from his face to the floor. "You want to know my death wish."

It was not a question.

"No."

Hisana frowned.

"I already know."

And then she understood. She smiled softly. "You need to hear it."

Byakuya nodded, his eyes never leaving the window. "I cannot fulfill your wish if you do not ask me to. I would lose my motivation and quit. Ask me and I will fulfill you wish. Or wishes."

Hisana closed her eyes and leaned back on his shoulder. "I only got one. You rejected the other request."

This made Byakuya look down on her. "I rejected?"

Hisana nodded. "I asked you to be happy. To find new love."

Byakuya screwed up his face, trying to give her a reassuring smile. He failed horribly, causing Hisana to giggle.

"I could become happy without love."

Hisana forced a smile and cupped his head with her hand. Then she shook her head, staring him in the eyes. "Nice try, Byakuya-sama, but even you can't fly without your wings."

"I could try," he suggested.

"You'll fall down and crash. I don't want you to crash."

Upon hearing her pleading voice, Byakuya knew that he didn't want to let her crash, either. He knew he was able to, even in these last minutes before her death. He wouldn't make her.

"We'll compromise," he proposed. "I will be happy and I will find love. But not in a way I have always loved you."

Hisana blushed slightly, and nodded. "That is okay, I guess. Oh, but!"

"Here it comes…"

"If, and yes, only if, you fall in love again, don't let the memory of me stand in your way."

Easy promise made, Byakuya mused. "Deal."

"Yay," Hisana said, yawning again. She tried to stretch her arms a bit, but flinched after her first try. "It hurts to move…"

"I will put you down again," Byakuya said, a worried undertone in his voice. "You will feel better."

But Hisana started to shake her head frantically. "No! I want you to hold me. I want to die in your arms. I always thought that it was something people in love would just say, but it's true, and I really want to die laying in your arms. Please? You lessen my pain! And this is our moment, isn't it? Really our moment. Let me spent it like this."

Even though he was afraid of physically hurting her more, Byakuya kept her in his arms and hugged her closer.

"Now," he said, "on to your second wish."

He could feel her body stiffen against his chest. She had always been very uncomfortable when it came to talking about -

"Rukia."

She trembled. Byakuya placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Go on."

"Please," Hisana said, feeling the first tear rolling down her face. "Please find my baby sister. And when you do, don't tell her I was her sister."

Byakuya widened his eyes. "Hisana…"

She stopped his words with a sob. "I abandoned my sister. I have no right to be called hers."

Byakuya's eyes softened as he watched her. "Hisana, love…"

Hisana let her tears flow without even trying to hold them back. She buried her head in his shoulder and continued her wish. "Please allow her to call you 'brother'."

Byakuya surrendered. "I will find her," he promised, kissing the top of her head again. "I will find her and take care of her. I promise you."

Hisana mumbled something Byakuya couldn't catch. So, after he gently asked her to repeat herself, she pulled back her head and sniffed, "Why would you go through so much trouble for me?"

Byakuya placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head. As he watched her face, he said, "Because I love you."

Hisana made a sound, but managed to force a watery smile on her face. Byakuya used his thumbs to wipe the tears away from her face and then leaned in closer. He kissed her cheeks, first left, then right, on to her chin to place the tiniest butterfly kisses upwards to her mouth. He heard her breath out his name before he locked her lips with his. Hisana used one hand to stroke Byakuya's neck while the other was still positioned against his chest.

When they parted, Hisana had stopped from crying. There was a vague trace of happiness in her eyes and she cuddled closer to him, feeling drowsy in his arms. "Thank you, Byakuya-sama. Those five years I spent with you were like a dream."

Byakuya nodded and planted another small kiss on her lips. "So they were."

Hisana nodded slowly and yawned again. "I'm so so tired… and it hurts… I wish it would stop..."

A lump formed in Byakuya's throat. He tried to swallow it away, but without any success. "It will be over soon."

"Yeah…"

They fell silent, for neither knew what there was left to say. They both already knew the obvious and the less obvious. And suddenly, it didn't matter to them anymore that the sun shone brightly. The early blooming blossom didn't matter anymore. Byakuya heaved a sigh and stared outside without concentrating on what he was seeing. Suddenly, he longed for a dark, cloudy sky with big raindrops falling down, to be born in the clouds, to fall down from heaven and to die whenever they crashed on the ground.

They would be like Hisana.

"Byakuya-sama?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry you had to take care of me in the end."

The worst thing to Byakuya was that she really did seem to be sorry. He hugged her closer to his body and placed his chin on her head. "It was time for a switch."

Hisana laughed softly. Byakuya enjoyed hearing her laugh, even though it was just a small one. Before he remembered that her time was now only minutes or even seconds away, he felt her body relax.

Her torso was very still while her arms and legs where shaking. She couldn't squeeze anything anymore. The little strength she had left was dripping out of her body in a very rapid tempo. Byakuya was sure he could see the light in her eyes slowly drown. She took a deep breath and then surrendered to the darkness. With her eyes closed, she sighed, "I'm sure I could never forget you, not even in the afterlife. Thank you for everything, Byakuya-sama."

With that, he felt her body go limp in his arms. Her chest stopped from rising; her hand would fall out of his if he stopped holding it.

She had passed.

Feeling weaker than ever before, Byakuya didn't try to stop his tears. They fell down and some landed in Hisana's hair. The sobbing sounds echoed heavy and hollow in the large and empty room. The moment they died away, they were replaced by new ones. While he always thought that a heart would ache terribly after a loss, it didn't to Byakuya. It felt as if his heart had faded away. His heart has faded along with Hisana. But he didn't worry; she would take care of it.

Byakuya hugged her body as close as possible to his. Just for one last time.

"I will keep my promises, Hisana," he tried to say, but the lump in his throat didn't allow him to speak any understandable language.

But he was sure that she had heard him.

She had always heard him.


End file.
